The Difference Between Netnavis and Reploids
by Aki Kochou
Summary: In a blaze of fire, Netto realizes that everything he had known was a lie. But now, he has a choice: to fight for what he knows is right and end up fighting against his friends and family, or to allow the darkness to continue. And who exactly is this Ciel
1. Prolouge

I know I should really be working on Warped Life, but I can't seem to bring myself to write. But on a better note, my cousin's visiting today so I'm excited. Maybe once I see her, I write some more for Warped Life.

Anyways, this is a story that came into my mind while playing Megaman Zero 3. So please, Read and Review!

* * *

Prolouge

* * *

'How do I always get myself into these messes?' Was the first thing that crossed Netto's mind while he was running towards the back of the small plane. Netto remembered why he was on the plane that was on a crash course towards Creamland.

/Flashback/

"A new mission, Meijin-san?" Netto asked, sitting on a chair at his desk.

"Yes. Apparently, there was a hint sent that some darkoids were going to attack the palace. It may be just a hoax, but we want you there just in case. Enzan is already there and he'll be waiting for you there. Your plane will be leaving later tonight around seven. Hopefully, it'll give you enough time to prepare." Netto nodded.

"Hai, it will. Thank you Meijin-san."

"No need for formalities."

/End Flashback/

Later that night, Netto had boarded the plane and the ride had been going smoothly. Well, at least until the plane had hit some turbulence. At first, Netto hadn't thought much about it, but when it continued for almost the minutes, Netto had become worried and headed up to the cockpit. There he had found out that there was something wrong in the piloting program. Netto had plugged Rockman in and corrected that error quickly enough.

However, another error had occurred and this time, it was in the wheels. However, there wasn't enough time for Rockman to travel over to that program before the plane was going to land. So instead, the captain told Netto to head to the back of the plane where there was a manual control for the wheels. Why the manual control was back there, Netto would never know, but he took off towards the back anyway.

'And that's why…' Netto thought to himself as he was running. 'I'm in this mess.' Netto was now towards the back of the passenger section of the plane, where he had been sitting earlier. All of a sudden, a pipe running along the inside of the plane burst.

"Holy!" Netto cried as flames emerged from the pipe and seemed to start growing. 'I have to get to the back or else we'll end up belly flopping!' Netto exclaimed in his mind. All ideas of avoiding the flames and getting to the back however, were cut off when the flames rised in front of Netto. Netto's eyes widened as he realized what had just happened. Now, there was no way to activate the manual controls for the wheels unless Netto went through the fire. And that was something Netto would rather not do, unless of course he was wet down with water…

'That's it!' Netto thought and turned back to the cockpit. Perhaps one or both of the pilots had some sort of water bottle that he could wet himself down with. As he turned though, that plan went through the window as well because Netto found himself surrounded by the flames.

"Oh, shoot! This is NOT my day!" Netto muttered to himself as he felt the heat starting to get to him. The seconds seemed to drag by as Netto was filled with heat and pain. Netto could feel the flames scorching him; destroying him. The next few minutes were the longest minutes that Netto had ever felt in his life. He fell to his knees and as darkness was about to completely take over and Netto was about to give up all hope, a strange liquid was splashed all over him, putting out the flames and cooling him down.

'Water…?' Netto's mind barely registered.

"Hikari Netto…" A soft female voice said from besides him. Netto turned his head and saw a young woman with a pink and white headband with long blonde hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a pink vest with a dark blue long-sleeved shirt underneath it. She was also wearing a pink skirt with blue nylons.

"W-who…?" Netto barely managed to get out.

"Shh…" She shushed him. "Right now, it doesn't matter. We don't have much time. I want to help you, Netto. Please allow me to." She said gently. Netto didn't even have to think about that one. He nodded his agreement.

"Ok…but, who…are you…?" The woman chuckled humorlessly.

"You certainly are stubborn aren't you? Very well, my name is Ciel. And I think you'll be glad to hear that I've already activated the plane's manual control for the wheels. You'll land safely. Just relax." Netto finally closed his eyes and let himself succumb to the darkness, a strange feeling of peace filling his heart.

* * *

Oh gosh, I've done it again. As if doing that to poor Lan/Netto in Tenshi no Rei was bad enough. But never fear, you'll see why I had to do this. Also please, no flaming me about either my placement of air plane controls or what I did to Netto. Flames will be used to roast s'mores for me, my cousin and all the kind reviewers! So please, tell me what you think about the story! 


	2. Chapter 1

Alright! Reviews! I was afraid no one would review...so, to show my thanks, I'll reply to all reviews!

**Yami Ami-** Thanks for being the first reviewer! I'm glad you like this story! Also, I have no clue when Warped Life will be posted because I currently have a case of inspiration block...

**Jenrya282**- Thanks a lot!

**FireHedgeHog**- Yes, yes I did. You had to know that this fic would hit eventually.

**Maverick Hunter Phoenix-** Well, here's your update!

**Kayono-** I know! I'm sorry! I'm well aware that Netto goes through too much pain/torment by us writers but someone's got to do it since the anime doesn't really do much of it. And yes, we've got to love Ciel because she wears pink.Well, you get to see more of Ciel in this chapter.

**Morgana**-I'm glad you like the story!

**Difference Between Netnavis and Reploids  
Hikari no Namida  
Chapter 1**

Netto never realized that he had woken up until he felt that he was laying on something hard and cold.Perhaps it was some kind of metal.The next thing he realized was that his head hurt. Really badly. Netto shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position but couldn't move.

"Nng...what's going on...?" Netto opened his eyes and asked.

"Calm down, Netto. You're safe." Netto turned his head to see Ciel smiling at him. "Good morning, Netto." Ciel greeted. Netto blinked in surprise.

"What time is it?" Netto asked.

"It's about 11 AM. You've been out for two days." A man with a strange black visor around his head said. The man also had a lab coat on as well.

"Netto, this is Cerveau. He's an engineer." Cerveau smiled.

"It's nice to meet you Netto." Netto nodded as best as he could.

"Yea, you too. Um... can we take these things off?" Netto pulled against the restraints that were around his arms and legs. Ciel and Cerveau exchanged glances so quickly that Netto didn't even notice.

"Of course." Cerveau undid the metal straps and Netto was finally able to sit up. He looked around and saw a huge computer to his left. The entire room was made of metal, even the lab table that Netto was sitting on.

"Ciel, Cerveau-san...where am I?" Once again, Ciel and Cerveau exchanged glances.

"Netto...there's something we need to talk to you about something..." Cerveau trailed off, uncertain of how to continue.

"Have you ever heard of reploids, Netto?" Ciel asked to try to start off. Netto shook his head. "Reploids are an advanced form of robots who can feel emotions and make their own decisions. But since you've never heard of reploids, I doubt you've heard of Neo Arcadia or Mavericks, right?" Netto nodded

"About 100 years ago, there were two famous reploids known as X and Zero. It was at that time that seeing reploids alongside humans was quite common. However a virus, called the Zero virus, started infecting reploids and made them believe that they were superior to humans. The reploids that were infected were known as mavericks. In short, this created the Maverick Wars. Because the virus originally came from Zero, he went into hybernation to try to get rid of the virus. While, it cut down the amount of infections, it did not stop the virus altogether. During that time, X was turned into a cyber elf. A cyber elf is a cybernetic creature that has a special ability. Once that ability is used, the elf dies.

Then, about ten years ago, I tried to recreate X. However, Copy X, as we call him, was different than X. Copy X created Neo Arcadia, which is supposively a perfect utopia for humans. However, there was a great fear of the Maverick wars happening again. Therefore, Copy X started having his own guardians destroy, or as well call it, retire reploids who were suspected of being mavericks. His guardians would even retire reploids who were completely innocent, and they couldn't care less."

"What! But that's just wrong!" Netto exclaimed. Ciel nodded her agreement.

"Yes, I know. However, I gathered quite a few of these suspected mavericks, who honestly weren't mavericks after some testing, and formed a resistance against Copy X and Neo Arcadia. The resistance was loosing the war against Neo Arcadia when we decided to try to find Zero himself. I was part of the team who searched for Zero. It took a while, but we found and awakened Zero. However, since we had to force Zero awake, he has hibernation sickness, otherwise known as temporary amnesia. However, Zero has been helping us in our fight against Neo Arcadia." Ciel explained. Netto blinked, trying to take it all in.

"That's cool, but…what does this have to do with me?" Netto asked.

"Well, for one you live in Neo Arcadia…" Ciel and Cerveau exchanged glances and this time, Netto actually saw it.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Netto questioned. Ciel sighed and nodded.

"Yes. Netto, when I found you on that plane, you were on the brink of death and your body was beyond repair. What I mean to say Netto is that the only way I could save you was to transfer your mind into a different body. Netto…you are a reploid." Ciel said the last sentence softly, but it seemed loud, almost too loud for Netto. His jaw dropped and he was sure that he looked almost like a fish.

"I…I'm a…" Netto stuttered and then broke off.

"A reploid, yes." Cerveau finally rejoined the conversation. "Why don't you see for yourself?" He pointed to a full sized mirror over by the wall. Netto numbly walked over to the mirror and stared at himself. Then, he did the only thing he could think of. He screamed bloody murder.

* * *

Hehe, what does Netto look like? You'll have to wait until the next chapter to see! Also, if parts of my history are off, please excuse me because quite frankly the Zero series is hard to understand. Also if you know the names of the major characters of Neo Arcadia (the four guardians, etc) in Japanese, can you please tell me? Unfortunately I only know the english ones. 

So please, Read and Review!


	3. Chapter 2

Sorry for the delay in posting this. So, here's the responses:

**Rockbane**: I'm glad you like it

**Moreta Lynx**: No, Netto was no transferred into an alternate reality. In this story, the events of the X and Zero series happened in secret and Netto literally lives in Neo Arcadia.

**Yamiangie**- Thank you for your help with the Japanese names…Right now, I'm in the middle of a rough decision as to switch the names over to the English version so I don't have to ask what the enemy names are…but I like Lan's Japanese name. It's so cool.

**Firehedgehog**- Hehe, glad you like it Fire-chan!

**Kayono**: Thanks for telling me about the grammer part. Actually, your guess on what Netto looks like pretty much hits the nail on the head. Just take the description that I give in the beginning of the chapter and remember that Netto is supposed to look a bit like Zero. Like, he has the same armor, just in different colors and such.

**Enzetto**: You may end up learning a fair amount about the games just by reading this! Well, I kinda hope so anyways…

**Maverick Hunter Phoenix**: Thank you for telling me about the dark elf…I had forgotten all about it…hehe….I have no clue about the cyber-elves and you'll see Rockman at the end of this chapter. Also, I read your story Two Worlds, One Heart and I must say I like it a lot. I'd love to get a chance to talk to you if you'd like.

**Imagine.exe** : Yep, Netto's a reploid. I thought it'd be an interesting turn of events. Unfortunately, you won't get to see Rockman's reaction to Netto in this form until later in the story. But if you want, you can check out my livejournal where I've posted a couple of teasers for this story.

**Hikari no Namida  
The Difference Between Netnavis and Reploids  
Chapter 2- The New Program**

Recap from last chapter:

"_I…I'm a…" Netto stuttered and then broke off._

"_A reploid, yes." Cerveau finally rejoined the conversation. "Why don't you see for yourself?" He pointed to a full sized mirror over by the wall. Netto numbly walked over to the mirror and stared at himself. Then, he did the only thing he could think of. He screamed bloody murder. _

/Chapter 2/

Netto had light blue armor with what looked like a pale green bodysuit underneath. His helmet, which was also blue, seemed to have a single white feather on both sides of his helmet, right next to his ears. His boots were exactly the same as his helmet, except the boots almost went up to Netto's knees and there were two feathers on each side of the boots. And his hair…

"God, my hair looks way too much like Blues'…" Netto remarked after he stopped screaming. And indeed his hair did look like Blues'. His hair was incredibly long and was silver-white. Netto looked to Ciel and Cerveau for an explanation. Cerveau shrugged and Ciel looked a bit embarrassed.

"I thought it looked nice." She said simply. Netto turned back towards his reflection and sighed.

"So basically, you did to me what Papa did to niisan…" At Ciel and Cerveau's confused looks, Netto explained.

"My older twin, Saito was born with HBD and died as a baby. So my Papa transferred his mind into data and transferred the data to create my netnavi, Rockman. Hey, speaking of Rockman, where is he?" Ciel smiled.

"Don't worry, he's in my lab. He's very worried about you. Also, we have other things we need to tell you." Netto turned towards the two scientists curiously.

"Netto…I really hope you can forgive me for what I've done to you…It's just…we need more help here and when I saw you in that condition…" Ciel trailed off for a moment. "But…I have a program that I've already installed in you that will allow you to live with your family and friends without them ever realizing what you are." Netto's eyes widened, so Ciel took this as a meaning she should continue. "I call it the 'Civilian Program'. Concentrate on your appearance and take into account that you have just "survived" a major fire. Then search through your programs and activate the Civilian program." Ciel explained. Netto nodded and did as he was told. Soon, Netto was covered by a white light. The light lasted for about 15 seconds, then faded.

Netto looked almost exactly like he had before the fire. He was wearing his normal orange vest, white long sleeved shirt, black shorts and blue headband with the Hikari symbol on it. What was different was that the headband, vest and long-sleeved shirt seemed semi-scorched. Netto was also wearing what looked like white hospital bandages which were wrapped around both of his forearms. Ciel gave Netto a curious look.

"Well, you said to make it look like I just came from a fire…" Apparently, even reploids could blush, because Netto was certainly doing a lot of it. Both Ciel and Cerveau laughed.

"It looks perfect Netto. When you're like this, you can eat food like any other human. By eating, you'll also help recharge yourself." Netto nodded his understanding.

"Now, try to reverse the effects and return to your armored form. All you have to do is reverse the program. Try it out." Cerveau suggested. Netto did as he was told and this time, the light only laster for about ten seconds. Either switching back to armor was easier, or Netto was getting used to the program. Perhaps it was a mix of both that allowed him to be quicker this time. But either way, soon Netto was back in his armor.

"You're getting the hang of this! Now, Ciel and I believe that you should not allow anyone to know what you are. So therefore, we believe you should have a different name when you are in armored form." Cerveau said.

"I guess…I'll be Yurei." Netto decided. Cerveau raised an eyebrow, not that Netto could see it. Ciel simply nodded, but didn't question Netto's decision.

"Well, then Yurei, I have a favor to ask of you. I don't expect an answer right away, but please think about it. Yurei, will you please help the resistance? Zero has been doing the best he can, but we still need more help. But please, don't believe that you have to do this. We will not think any less of you should you decide not to. If you decide not to, none of us at the resistance will ever bother you again. Please, just think about it for a while. In the meantime, if you'll activate the Civilian Program again, I'll show you where Rockman is." Ciel told Netto. Netto searched through his programs and activated the Civilian Program again. He could literally feel his armor vanishing, but ready to be called back at any time.

This time, the change only took a few seconds. Ciel smiled and nodded her approval.

"Excellent, Netto. Now follow me." Netto smiled back and followed Ciel.

"See ya Cerveau-san!" Netto exclaimed. Cerveau chuckled.

"Please, just Cerveau, Netto." Netto's smile grew and he nodded.

"Ok, then! Bye!" Cerveau waved and Netto left the maintenance room. Ciel and Netto walked in silence towards Ciel's lab. Along the way, there were a lot of people (whom Netto learned were actually reploids later) who greeted Ciel warmly. Netto figured it was because Ciel was the leader of the resistance, so of course people would be friendly towards her. Also, Ciel was naturally a good natured person. Or at least, that's what Netto had noticed. Soon, the two were in front of a door with a plaque that said 'Ciel'.

"Here we are. This is my lab." Ciel was about to enter when Netto stopped her.

"Wait! Ciel…um…" Ciel paused and turned towards him curiously.

"What is it, Netto?" She asked.

"I made my decision. I'll help you guys out." Netto said. Ciel smiled broadly.

"Thank you Netto-kun." This time, Netto looked at her confused. "Well, if we're going to be working together, we may as well be informal. That is, if you don't mind." Ciel offered. Netto shook his head.

"I don't mind! In fact, I like informal better." Ciel nodded her understanding.

"I can't thank you enough Netto-kun. With you on our side, we just might be able to end this war and be at peace." Ciel sighed blissfully at that thought. "Anyways," she continued, "just walk through. Your navi is in there." Netto walked through the door and was instantly greeted by the cheerful yell,

"NETTO-KUN!"

* * *

So how was that? It wasn't very long I know and I ask you bear with me. I start school tommorrow so I've been stressed and I had to finish an essay for my english class which is due the first day of school. 

Anyways, anyone who wants to visit my livejournal where I post parts of upcoming chapters and stories I haven't even posted on go to my profile page and grab the link there or just go to:

http / www . livejournal . com / users / hikarinonamida

Just take out the spaces and add a double dot(can't remember what it's called) after the http and add another slash after it and you're all set! Anyways, please read and review!


	4. Chapter 3

The Difference Between Netnavis and Reploids

Hikari no Namida

Chapter 3- Netto, Meet Zero

"Netto-kun! You're alright!" Rockman yelled the moment he saw Netto enter the room. Netto felt a small pang of regret in his heart. He had died and was now a reploid. He could look human, but he would never be one again. Somehow, he didn't think that having to be changed into a reploid would really be considered 'alright', but he kept that to himself.

"Hey, of course I am! You can't get rid of me!" _'Oh really? Why then are you a reploid? Why aren't you at home with Mama?' _Netto tried to ignore the mental voice, knowing that if he listened to it, he would only get depressed and people would get suspicious. Rockman cracked a small grin.

"Heh, I guess so…but I was so worried about you, Netto-kun…" Netto smiled reassuringly at Rockman.

"You worry too much Rockman!" _'But not nearly as much as I worry about you...'_ Ciel then spoke up.

"Rockman, I'm sure you'll want to know the extent of damage that Netto-kun took on?" Rockman nodded, not saying anything about the -kun that Ciel added to Netto's name, figuring it was just that Ciel called all of her patients that. Ciel sighed slightly and started speaking in a slightly regretful tone.

"I'm afraid that he has permanent damage to his arms. That's why he must always keep those bandages wrapped around his arms. There was also some minor damage to the head, but he'll recover from that fairly quickly. However, I want him to stay here to recover." Rockman blinked in surprise. Netto smiled inwardly. He had wondered how Ciel was going to come up with an excuse for him staying here all the time. It was a brilliant excuse. Since Rockman thought Ciel was only a doctor, he couldn't argue with what she said. Only a doctor. Netto mentally scoffed at that idea. Actually, Netto realized, Ciel was a doctor. Just not exactly a doctor in the field of medics.

"Alright...so is this place a hospital?" Rockman questioned. Netto vaguely wondered how Ciel was going to answer that without giving too much away.

"No, I'm afraid not." Netto quickly glanced towards Ciel at that. Rockman stared as well. "This place is more of a hospital for reploids. However, since we landed closest to here, I also have equipment here that can help humans." Ciel explained. Rockman looked at her confused.

"Reploids?" Rockman questioned.

"Robots who have the ability to think, make their own decision and feel emotions. In short, they are as nearly as close as you can get to being human." Rockman nodded his understanding. Just then, there was a knock on the door before the door whirred open.

A medium sized reploid stepped inside. He had a purple bodysuit with red, yellow and white armor. His helmet was also red and purple with a turquoise blue triangular gem set in the front. White feathers started at the base of his jaw and shot back towards the back of the helmet. His hair was long and blonde. His eyes were a dark purple. Ciel smiled at the newcomer.

"Ah Zero. Is there anything I can help you with?" Ciel asked the reploid. Zero glanced at Netto for a moment before turning back towards the scientist.

"Actually, yes. I heard a rumor of a new reploid here who's going to be helping us in our fight against Neo Arcadia. Is this true?" Zero questioned. Ciel nodded.

"Yes, this is indeed true. His name is Yurei and he said he would be willing to help out. He may not be around too often, as he is quite busy." Ciel glanced over at Netto quickly with a slight smile, before looking back over at Zero. "However, since he's just been upgraded from a messenger to a fighter reploid, he'll need training. Would you be willing to do so, Zero?" Zero simply turned towards the door and glanced at Ciel over his shoulder.

"Let me meet him first and then I'll decide." Zero then walked out the door.

"Why do I get the feeling that you didn't ask Yurei, whoever he is, if he wanted any training?" Rockman asked after a few moments of silence. Ciel laughed slightly and gave Rockman a look that reminded him way too much of Netto. Rockman had a feeling that Ciel and Netto were going to get along just fine.

"Well, that would be because I didn't. I just wanted to see if Zero would actually consider the idea before getting Yurei's hopes up." Ciel explained.

"Getting his hopes up indeed…" Netto muttered under his breath. Then he said a bit louder, "Don't you think you should have asked first?" Netto chided.

"Ah yes, well…." Ciel cleared her throat. "I'll burn that bridge when I come to it." She said, looking semi-embarrassed. Netto winced at the prospect of anything burning. Images of the plane flashed in front of his eyes and he closed his eyes to wipe the images away. The memories were too fresh, too vivid and much too painful to think about right now.

"Is something wrong, Netto-kun?" Netto snapped out his flashbacks and saw Rockman and Ciel staring at him in concern.

"Huh? No, nothing's wrong. Just…thinking…that's all." Netto said rather quickly. Ciel simply raised an eyebrow.

"Right…well, I was wondering if you could go and find Yurei for me and bring him here. I need to talk to him about his training. You can wander around the base after if you'd like after." Netto nodded and left the room. Thank goodness Ciel had come up with an excuse for him when he was Yurei. He didn't want Rockman getting too suspicious. He quickly walked around the corner and after checking to see if the coast was clear, activated the civilian program. Netto breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the drain on his energy start to fade a bit. Anytime he was in his human look-alike form, his energy seemed to drain a bit quicker than it did in his armored form. Netto waited a few minutes before walking back to Ciel's lab at a leisurely pace. It would be rather suspicious if Netto showed up as Yurei just moments after Hikari Netto had left. And Netto didn't want Rockman suspecting him already. It only took Netto less than a minute to get back to Ciel's lab. He knocked on the door and went inside without waiting for an answer.

"You wanted to see me Ciel?" Netto asked, relieved to hear that Yurei's voice was different than Hikari Netto's.

"Yes, I did. Yurei, meet Hikari Netto's netnavi, Rockman. Rockman, this is Yurei." Netto smiled at Rockman.

"It's nice to meet you Rockman." Netto felt so strange saying that to his own navi. Rockman returned the smile.

"Likewise. So, where do you come from, Yurei?" Netto kept a calm expression on his face, while inwardly, he was panicking. What was he supposed to say? He and Ciel had never discussed this! Thankfully, Netto was saved when once again, Zero walked in.

"Is there a reason you've ONCE AGAIN called me in here?" Zero demanded, sounding quite irritated. Apparently, he was having a bit of a bad day. Ciel sighed and shook her head.

"It looks like I interrupted your training, huh?" Then Ciel leaned over towards Netto and whispered. "Don't worry about him. He's always like this when someone interrupts his training time." Now Zero looked even more irritated.

"Will you PLEASE just tell me what's going on?" Zero once again demanded.

"Alright, calm down. Zero, I wanted to introduce you to Yurei. Yurei, this is Zero. He's the one who's going to training you." Well, at least now Zero got to meet Yurei face-to-face. Zero made a 'hmm' noise and slowly walked around Netto, examining him. Netto found himself growing more and more nervous as the elder reploid circled him like a predator circled its prey.

"Not too bad for an upgraded messenger reploid…mainly built for speed, as any messenger reploid should be…after all…" Zero grinned slightly. "You don't want to get hit by the enemy while trying to deliver something, hm?...Defense is fairly high…power and accuracy could be higher…" Zero finally stopped circling Netto, which made Netto much more relieved.

"Alright then, Ciel. I'll…train him. Yurei. Come with me." Zero commanded, spun around and walked out of Ciel's lab at a brisk pace. Netto rolled his eyes.

"It was nice meeting you Rockman." Netto said to his netnavi with a smile. Rockman smiled back.

"You too Yurei." Netto quickly left the room, trying to catch up to Zero. Zero glanced back at Netto.

"You may not like me very much right now, but by the end of this, you're going to hate me with a passion. But at least you'll be able to defend yourself and you'll still be functioning." Zero looked forward again and Netto had a very bad feeling about this.

What was he getting himself into?

END CHAPTER

You know, I really should have named this chapter, "The chapter in which nothing really happens". So, I apologize for the long delay in getting this out.

Here's a question for everyone:

Which enemy do you want to attack first?

One of the guardians(Rockman Zero)

Or

One of the darkloids (Rockman.exe)


End file.
